I've patronized this great establishment for over thirty years. They began as a mail-order catalog outlet for outdoor gear. Then they opened a small outlet in Sparks Nevada which became a frequent weekend destination. Now they have expanded to multiple physical locations as well as building a wonderful internet store.

If you are shopping for outdoor clothing or gear, start here. What initially drew me in was their product selection. They picked up all kinds of wonderful brand-named overruns and leftovers and offered them at amazing prices. Today they have an enormous inventory of clothing and gear for many outdoor pursuits and have expanded into more mainstream territory as well (suits, curtains, you name it . . .). I've purhased go-lite packs, inov-8 shoes, smartwool socks, goretex parkas, Giro bike helmets, black diamond carabiners, gear from Patagonia, North Face, Sierra Designs, Mountain Hardwear, Marmot, Outdoor Research, running, climbing, hiking, biking gear - the list is endless.

Value and selection aside, they are one of the best retail experiences you will ever have. Here, the saying "customer is always right" is truly the corporate mantra. If you need them, staff are friendly, helpful, and always accommodating. They cultivate customer good will, and in thirty plus years of purchasing, I've never had a bad experience.

Recently after several months of not purchasing anything from them, I received in the mail a complimentary copy of backpacker magazine. It was sent compliments of Sierra Trading Post with a note saying they appreciated my past business and wishing me well. I mean, who does that in retail? Best thing about them, once you are on the mailing list, you receive frequent offers for special discounts over and above the already great prices. Sometimes it's an additional 30% off, sometimes 35%, sometimes includes free shipping, and every month or so they drop a full 45% off. These discounts don't apply to every single in inventory, however they usually apply to thousands of items of interest. To give you an idea of pricing, once I was browsing the catalog and saw a beautiful ultralight down jacket from Millet (top notch french outdoor gear) retailing for $220. Their price was $148, but with my email discount offer I could not resist purchasing for $98. Also picked up a merino wool base layer top (Valde) for $22 and a wonderful poly fleece "chamois" shirt for $17. I always loved my heavy cotton chamois shirt during cold evenings on the trail. This is lighter, warmer, and cheaper. Love it!

The email discount offers come often but last only a few days each, so I find myself dropping by often, browsing the catalog, and putting items of interest in my basket. Then when the email discount offers roll in I check to see if my items have dropped in price. Very often they have. And very often I can't resist the purchase. I'm careful to read the customer reviews, and I do as much research online as I can to be sure that an item is something I can use or clothing that will fit. For those items that I've misjudged and can't use, I've never had a problem returning or exchanging. And there is no hard limit on return time. I think for money back it's 6 months (need to double check). But if you really want to be a pain, you can return almost anything, anytime, for any reason. I have to say that merchandise is of a quality that I've rarely returned anything. Only occasionally have I exchanged for a different size.

My loyalty to Sierra Trading Post has been earned the old fashioned way - consistently great products and service. And I try to repay their kind treatment by being the best customer I can be. I've no financial relationship with them, just selfish self-interest in seeing them prosper and continue offering great stuff at great prices. If you haven't tried them, I'd encourage you to stop by soon. Don't wait till you need something. Browse the catalog often as they are always adding new merhcandise, and sometimes sell out of good stuff quickly. You'll invest a little time scanning the catalog, but you'll probably find some great stuff at even greater saving.

*Discount is 35% off one item only. Customer must enter keycode SJMT20133 at checkout for discount to be applied. Discount is automatically applied to highest-priced item in cart. Cannot be combined with other keycode offers. Offer cannot be applied to previous purchases. Expires 11:59pm (MDT) Friday, July 26, 2013.

Zelph, I share your instincts. It's always wise to shop carefully online, and always be leery of fine print. But as your tag line says, "Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained". I think most will be pleasantly surprised with STP's quality of goods and low prices over time, legalese aside. They have to say all of that because they issue so many different discounts. IF you could combine them they'd be sending you the goods plus cash. By the way, those items you might like that don't qualify for immediate discount should go on your wish list because at some point they will become eligible. Today I received another email offer for 35% off any order over $125 plus free shipping. I had several random items in my basket and more than half qualified for the discount. Those that didn't were already on clearance with more than 60% off retail. The discount saved me another $130 (about 40% off the already discounted total).

I have traded with STP a few times with good results. Anymore, I seem to make many of my online transactions with EBay and Amazon. I have had good experience with Cabela's, REI, and Gander Mountain. Probably my favorite online business over the years is with The Sportsmans Guide and always enjoy the catalogs they send me all year long. Gary Olsen and his team do a great job of providing quality gear at great prices.

"Many of lifes failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up".....Thomas Edison